Separator for secondary cell having excellent heat resistance and shutdown properties

ABSTRACT

A separator for a secondary cell includes a porous polymer substrate having a first surface, a second surface opposing the first surface, and a plurality of pores connecting the first surface to the second surface; and heat-resistant coating layers formed on at least one of the first surface and the second surface of the porous polymer substrate and on internal surfaces of the pores using an atomic layer deposition process (ALD). Pores having a non-coated region are present in the internal surfaces of the pores.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2015-0170487, filed on Dec. 2, 2015 with the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a separator for a secondary cellinterposed between an anode and a cathode, and a method of manufacturingthe same.

Lithium ion secondary batteries commonly include, for example, anodeshaving composite lithium oxides, cathodes having materials capable ofthe absorption and emission of lithium ions, as well as separators andnon-aqueous electrolyte solutions interposed between the anodes and thecathodes. Such anodes and cathodes are stacked with separatorsinterposed therebetween, or are wound, after being stacked, to formwinding electrodes having a columnar shape.

Separators function to electrically insulate anodes from cathodes, andto support non-aqueous electrolyte solutions. Microporous polyolefinmembranes are commonly used to form separators for such lithium ionsecondary batteries. Microporous polyolefin membranes have excellentelectrical insulating properties and ion transmitting properties, andare widely used in separators for lithium ion secondary batteries orcondensers.

Since lithium ion secondary batteries have a high output density and ahigh capacity density, but include non-aqueous electrolyte solutions,for example, organic solvents, the non-aqueous electrolyte solutions aredecomposed by heat produced in an abnormal state, such as a shortcircuit or overcharging, and in the worst case, may ignite. In order toaddress these issues, lithium ion secondary batteries have severalsafety functions, one such safety function being a separator shutdownfunction.

The separator shutdown function is provided such that the micropores ofseparators are occluded by thermally molten resin materials when lithiumion secondary batteries generate abnormal amounts of heat, so as tosuppress ionic conduction in non-aqueous electrolyte solutions, therebystopping the progress of electrochemical reactions.

In general, it is known that if a shutdown temperature is low, thesafety of lithium ion secondary batteries is high. One reason whypolyethylene is used as a component of separators is that polyethylenehas a moderate shutdown temperature. As such, separators, for example,uniaxially or biaxially stretched resin films, are used to porosify theseparators and increase the strength thereof.

In recent years, demand for high capacity and high output secondarycells to improve the thermal stability of separators has increased.Lithium ion secondary batteries require high thermal stability in orderto improve safety and increase capacity and output in a manufacturingprocess thereof and in use.

For example, when the thermal stability of separators decreases,interelectrode short circuits, due to damage or deformation of theseparators caused by a temperature rise in the lithium ion secondarybatteries, may occur, resulting in the overheating thereof or anincrease in the risk of fire, due to membranes themselves being shrunkat general shutdown temperatures, so that anodes and cathodes may comeinto contact with each other. As a result, a secondary problem such asan internal short circuit may occur. Thus, there is a need to improvethe safety of lithium ion secondary batteries by reducing the thermalcontraction of separators by increasing the heat resistance propertiesof the separators.

For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-16279 discloses aseparator having a coating layer in which microframeworks of apolyolefin-based resin material are coated on a glass layer. JapanesePatent No. 3797729 also discloses a separator for a battery in which aninorganic thin film is formed on the surface of a porous polyolefin filmby a sol-gel process without charging empty pores.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a separator havingexcellent shutdown properties, as well as excellent heat resistanceproperties, while preventing a membrane thereof from being shrunk, and amanufacturing method thereof.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a separator for asecondary cell may include: a porous polymer substrate having a firstsurface, a second surface opposing the first surface, and a plurality ofpores connecting the first surface to the second surface; andheat-resistant coating layers formed on at least one of the firstsurface and the second surface of the porous polymer substrate and oninternal surfaces of the pores using an atomic layer deposition (ALD)process, in which pores having a non-coated region are present in theinternal surfaces of the pores.

A weight percentage of the heat-resistant coating layers may be within arange of 10% to 50%, based on a total weight percentage ofheat-resistant coating layers coated on the first surface and the secondsurface of the porous polymer substrate and onto the internal surfacesof the pores at the same thickness as an average thickness (d) of theheat-resistant coating layers formed on the first surface and the secondsurface of the porous polymer substrate.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a separator for asecondary cell may include: a porous polymer substrate having a firstsurface, a second surface opposing the first surface, and a plurality ofpores connecting the first surface to the second surface; andheat-resistant coating layers formed on at least one of the firstsurface and the second surface of the porous polymer substrate and oninternal surfaces of the pores using an atomic layer deposition process,in which, with respect to a Gurley value of the separator, an increasein a Gurley value of the separator after the separator remains at 150°C. for one hour may be 200% or greater.

The separator may have a shrinkage of 5% or less before and afterremaining at 150° C. for one hour.

The separator may have a melt fracture temperature of 160° C. or higher,measured by thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA).

The separator may include pores, including a region having theheat-resistant coating layers formed therein and a region havingnon-heat-resistant coating layers formed therein, in the internalsurfaces of the pores.

The heat-resistant coating layers formed on the internal surfaces of thepores may have a thickness of 70% or lower, based on a thickness of theheat-resistant coating layers formed on the first surface and the secondsurface of the porous polymer substrate.

The porous polymer substrate may be formed of a polyolefin-based resin.

The heat-resistant inorganic layers may include a molecule, including anatom of at least one of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, silicon, titanium,and zirconium, and an atom of at least one of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur,and oxygen. The heat-resistant coating layers may be formed of at leastone of aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, titanium oxide, and zinc oxide.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method ofmanufacturing a separator for a secondary cell, the method may include:forming heat-resistant coating layers by repeating cycles of an atomiclayer deposition process for a porous polymer substrate having a firstsurface, a second surface opposing the first surface, and a plurality ofpores connecting the first surface to the second surface, each of thecycles of the atomic layer deposition process including: forming a metalcompound layer containing a metal by allowing metal compound vaporincluding at least one of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, silicon,titanium, and zirconium to react with the first surface and the secondsurface of the porous polymer substrate; forming a solid ceramic layercontaining a nonmetal and a metal by allowing nonmetal compound vapor,including at least one of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen, to reactwith a metal compound contained in the formed metal compound layer; andforming a layer containing a metal on a portion of internal surfaces ofthe pores by controlling an amount of the metal compound vapor suppliedto an entirety of a reaction area of the porous polymer substrate duringthe forming of the metal compound layer and the forming of the solidceramic layer, in each of the cycles of the atomic layer depositionprocess.

The layer containing the metal may be formed on the portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores by additionally controlling the number ofrepetitions of the cycles of the atomic layer deposition process and areaction time required for the forming of the metal compound layer.

The metal compound vapor may be formed of at least one of AlCl₃,tri-methyl-aluminum, Al(CH₃)₂Cl, Al(C₂H₅)₃, Al(OC₂H₅)₃, Al(N(C₂H₅)₂)₃,Al(N(CH₃)₂)₃, SiCl₄, SiCl₂H₂, Si₂Cl₆, Si(C₂H₅)H₂, Si₂H₆, TiF₄, TiCl₄,TiI₄, Ti(OCH₃)₄, Ti(OC₂H₅)₄, Ti(N(CH₃)₂)₄, Ti(N(C₂H₅)₂)₄,Ti(N(CH₃)(C₂H₅))₄, VOCl₃, Zn, ZnCl₂, Zn(CH₃)₂, Zn(C₂H₅)₂, ZnI₂, ZrCl₄,ZrI₄, Zr(N(CH₃)₂)₄, Zr(N(C₂H₅)₂)₄, Zr(N(CH₃)(C₂H₅))₄, HfCl₄, HfI₄,Hf(NO₃)₄, Hf(N(CH₃)(C₂H₅))₄, Hf(N(CH₃)₂)₄, Hf(N(C₂H₅)₂)₄, TaCl₅, TaF₅,TaI₅, Ta(O(C₂H₅))₅, Ta(N(CH₃)₂)₅, Ta(N(C₂H₅)₂)₅, and TaBr₅.

After a preprocessing process of forming a functional group in theporous polymer substrate is conducted, the cycles of the atomic layerdeposition process may be performed.

The functional group may be formed on the portion of the internalsurfaces of the pores. The functional group may be formed by allowing atleast one of water, oxygen, ozone, hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol,NO₂, NO₂O, NH₃, N₂, N₂H₄, C₂H₄, HCOOH, CH₃COOH, H₂S, (C₂H₅)₂S₂, and CO₂to react with the portion of the internal surfaces of the pores, using aplasma treatment, a corona discharge treatment, an ultraviolet ray (UV)irradiation treatment, or an ozone treatment.

The preprocessing process may be performed preferably by adjusting atleast one of processing strength, processing time, and the number oftimes the preprocessing process is repeated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a heat-resistant coating layer formed on aportion of internal surfaces of pores, as a cross-sectional view of aseparator, according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a set of schematic views of the process of forming aheat-resistant coating layer, according to an embodiment, using anatomic layer deposition (ALD) process;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic views of depositing a thin film with aprecursor such as Al(CH₃)₃ and H₂O having a half-reaction, usingadsorption of the precursor and a reactant and a surface reactionbetween their adsorbed molecules;

FIG. 5 is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) picture of a surface of aporous polymer substrate manufactured according to a PreparationExample; and

FIG. 6 is an SEM picture of a surface of a separator having a portioncoated with an aluminum oxide layer according to Example 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described asfollows with reference to the attached drawings.

The present disclosure may, however, be exemplified in many differentforms and should not be construed as being limited to the specificembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Throughout the specification, it will be understood that when anelement, such as a layer, region or wafer (substrate), is referred to asbeing “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element, it can bedirectly “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” the other element, orother elements intervening therebetween that may be present. Incontrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,”“directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element, theremay be no other elements or layers intervening therebetween. Likenumerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated, listed items.

It will be apparent that though the terms first, second, third, etc. maybe used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layersand/or sections, these members, components, regions, layers and/orsections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one member, component, region, layer or section fromanother region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component,region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a secondmember, component, region, layer or section without departing from theteachings of the exemplary embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “above,” “upper,” “below,” and “lower”and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe oneelement's relationship relative to (an)other element(s) shown in thefigures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “above,” or “upper” relative to other elements would then be oriented“below,” or “lower” relative to the other elements or features. Thus,the term “above” can encompass both the above and below orientationsdepending on a particular direction of the figures. The device may beotherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and thespatially relative descriptors used herein may be interpretedaccordingly.

The terminology used herein describes particular embodiments only, andthe present disclosure is not limited thereby. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises,” and/or “comprising”when used in this specification specify the presence of stated features,integers, steps, operations, members, elements, and/or groups thereof,but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more otherfeatures, integers, steps, operations, members, elements, and/or groupsthereof.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedwith reference to schematic views illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure. In the drawings, for example, due to manufacturingtechniques and/or tolerances, modifications of the shape shown may beestimated. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure should not beconstrued as being limited to the particular shapes of regions shownherein, for example, to include a change in shape results inmanufacturing. The following embodiments may also be constituted aloneor as a combination thereof.

The contents of the present disclosure described below may have avariety of configurations, and only a required configuration is proposedherein, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a separator for asecondary cell, which may be manufactured by forming a heat-resistantcoating layer on a surface of a porous polymer substrate, using anatomic layer deposition (ALD) process. When a heat-resistant coatinglayer is formed on a portion of internal surfaces of pores included inthe porous polymer substrate, shutdown properties may be provided to theseparator, and the separator may be prevented from shrinking, therebyimproving safety of the secondary cell.

The separator, according to an embodiment, may allow an anode and acathode to be separated from each other, thereby preventing shortcircuits due to a contact therebetween from occurring, and may functionto pass lithium ions. The separator may use a substrate formed of aheat-resistant, microporous substance having excellent strength. Thesubstrate may be suitably used in an embodiment, as long as it is aporous polymer substrate, having a first surface, a second surfaceopposing the first surface, and a plurality of pores connecting thefirst surface to the second surface.

More preferably, the substrate may be a typical insulating resinmaterial, having a high degree of ion transmittance properties andmechanical strength. Such a resin material may be, for example, apolyolefin-based synthetic resin such as polypropylene (PP) orpolyethylene (PE), an acrylic resin, a styrene resin, a polyester resin,or a polyamide-based resin. Such a porous polyolefin membrane may haveexcellent electrical insulating properties and ion transmittingproperties, and may thus be widely used as a separator for a secondarycell or condenser.

The porous polymer substrate as a porous polyolefin substrate may beused without limitation as long as it has a high degree of porosity andallows lithium ions to move between the anode and the cathode. Such aporous polymer substrate is commonly used in the related art, mayinclude a porous polyolefin substrate, mostly represented bypolyethylene or polypropylene, and may be formed of other variousmaterials.

The porous polymer substrate may be, for example, polyethylene, such ashigh-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE),linear low-density polyethylene, or high molecular polyethylene,polypropylene, polypropyleneterephthalate, polyethyleneterephthalate,polybutyleneterephthalate, polyester, polyacetal, polyamide,polycarbonate, polyimide, polyamidimide, polyetherimide,polyetheretherketone, polyethersulfone, polyphenyleneoxide,polyphenylenesulfide, or polyethylenenaphthalate. However, the porouspolymer substrate is not limited thereto.

Since the secondary cell has a high output density and a high capacitydensity, but includes a non-aqueous electrolyte solution, for example,an organic solvent, the non-aqueous electrolyte solution may bedecomposed by heat generated in an abnormal state of the secondary cell,such as short circuits or overcharging, and in the worst case, mayignite.

In order to prevent such a phenomenon, a shutdown function may berequired in the case when the pores have become occluded by thethermally molten resin material, which has been brought to a temperaturenear the melting point of the secondary cell, when the second cellgenerates an abnormal amount of heat, all of which results in breakingcurrent flow. In general, if a shutdown temperature is low, the safetyof the second cell is high, and because the polyolefin-based resinmaterial as described above has a moderate shutdown temperature, it maythus be suitably used as the separator for the second cell. Also, use ofthe porous polyolefin membrane may allow separation properties betweenthe anode and the cathode to be excellent, thus further reducing thenumber of internal short circuits or a level of an open circuit voltage.

In particular, a polyolefin-based resin material such as polyethylene(HDPE or LDPE), or linear polyethylene, or polypropylene may be morepreferable, in terms of a melting temperature. Such a separator, forexample, a uniaxially or biaxially stretched resin film, may be used toporosify the separator and increase strength thereof. Further, astructure having two types of porous membranes stacked on each other, ora porous membrane formed of two types of molten resin materials andmixed with each other, may be used.

A thickness of the substrate may be randomly set, but is notparticularly limited to, a thickness or greater at which the separatormay maintain a required level of strength, and for example, may bewithin a range from 5 μm to 80 μm, and preferably 7 μm to 30 μm. Thesubstrate may have a thickness within the above-described range, therebyinsulating the anode from the cathode, preventing short circuits or thelike, providing ion transmitting properties to the separator so that asuitable secondary cell reaction can be performed through the separator,and increasing volume efficiency of an active material layer, whichcontributes to the secondary cell reaction occurring as efficiently aspossible.

A degree of porosity of the porous polymer substrate is not particularlylimited, and may be, for example, within a range from 10% to 80%, andmore preferably, 40% to 70%. In an embodiment, the size of the pores ofthe porous polymer substrate maybe, for example, within a range from 10nm to 2,000 nm, and more preferably 10 nm to 1,000 nm.

The above-mentioned polyolefin-based resin material may be preferable interms of the shutdown function, but when the secondary cell is shutdown, the separator may shrink, so that the anode and the cathode comeinto contact with each other. As a result, a secondary problem such asinternal short circuits may occur. Thus, the separator formed of thepolyolefin-based resin material may require an increase of heatresistance properties, to reduce thermal contraction, thereby improvingsafety. Further, the heat-resistant coating layer may preferably have afunction of increasing wettability with the non-aqueous electrolytesolution.

According to an embodiment, the substrate formed of the polyolefin-basedresin material may have the heat-resistant coating layer formed thereon,in order to prevent the separator from shrinking, by increasing the heatresistance properties of the substrate. The heat-resistant coating layermay preferably be formed of an inorganic material having greater heatresistance properties than a material forming the substrate.

Such an inorganic material may include, for example, a moleculeincluding an atom of at least one of aluminum, calcium, magnesium,silicon, titanium, and zirconium, and an atom of at least one of carbon,nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. More preferably, an aluminum oxide, asilicon oxide, a titanium oxide, or a zinc oxide may be used.

An inorganic oxide formed by the ALD process and having a nanoscalethickness may be, for example, a tantalum oxide, a tantalum nitride, azirconium oxide, a silicon oxide, a silicon nitride, a silicon carbide,a vanadium oxide, a zinc oxide, a zinc sulfide, an aluminum oxide, analuminum hydroxide, an aluminum nitride, a titanium oxide, a titaniumnitride, a hafnium oxide, or a hafnium nitride, which may be used alone,or in combinations thereof, but is not limited thereto.

The heat-resistant coating layer may preferably be formed on the surfaceof the substrate, for example, on one or both surfaces thereof, as wellas on the internal surfaces of the pores included in the substrate. Theheat-resistant coating layer may prevent the separator from shrinking inan abnormal high-temperature environment by being formed on the surfaceof the substrate. Further, the heat-resistant coating layer may beformed on the internal surfaces of the pores, thereby further increasingthe heat resistance properties of the separator, as compared to the casewhere the heat-resistant coating layer is formed only on the surface ofthe substrate. Also, the heat-resistant coating layer, having goodwettability with the non-aqueous electrolyte solution, may preferably beformed on the internal surfaces of the pores to further increase theaffinity of the non-aqueous electrolyte solution for the pores.

According to an embodiment, the heat-resistant coating layer formed onthe internal surfaces of the pores may preferably be formed on a portionof the internal surfaces of the pores. The polyolefin-based resinmaterial may be used to improve the safety of the secondary cell byimplementing the shutdown function of blocking current flow, occludingthe pores by bringing the microporous substance of the separator to athermally molten state, near the melting point of the polyolefin-basedresin material, when the secondary cell generates an abnormal amount ofheat. However, when the heat-resistant coating layer is formed on theentirety of the internal surfaces of the pores, the heat-resistantcoating layer may cause the occlusion of the pores by thermal melting tobe degraded, thereby significantly degrading the shutdown function. Inthis way, the advantage of using the polyolefin-based resin may bereduced.

According to an embodiment, when the portion of the internal surfaces ofthe pores is coated with the heat-resistant coating layer, for example,in the case where a coated region, in which the heat-resistant coatinglayer is formed, and a non-coated region, in which the heat-resistantcoating layer is not formed, coexist, it may be preferable that theshutdown function be performed by occluding the pores by the melting ofthe resin material under the abnormal high-temperature environment dueto the presence of the non-coated region, while preventing the separatorfrom shrinking and increasing the affinity of the non-aqueouselectrolyte solution.

Such an effect consists of forming the heat-resistant coating layer onthe surface of the substrate, as well as on the portion of the internalsurfaces of the pores, and forming a network structure between portionsof the heat-resistant coating layer formed on the portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores to increase retention strength of aporous structure of the substrate at high temperatures, therebypreventing the separator from shrinking at high temperatures andtriggering the shutdown function.

A cross-sectional structure of the separator having the heat-resistantcoating layer, according to an embodiment as described above, isillustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an exaggerated view to promote easyunderstanding of the concept of the present disclosure, and is notlimited to a structure illustrated in the drawings.

Further, FIG. 1 illustrates the respective pores when disconnected fromeach other, but it maybe understood by those skilled in the art that thepores may connect the first surface of the substrate to the secondsurface opposing the first surface, while the pores may also beconnected to each other.

Also, all of the pores of the substrate are not limited to having boththe coated region and the non-coated region that coexist in all of thepores included in the substrate; only the non-coated region may bepresent in the portion of the pores, and only the coated region may alsobe present in the portion of the pores.

The heat-resistant coating layer may preferably be formed on thesubstrate, using the ALD process. The forming of the heat-resistantcoating layer using the ALD process may allow the heat-resistant coatinglayer to be formed on the internal surfaces of the pores, as well as onthe surface of the substrate, and appropriate control of conditions ofthe ALD process may allow the heat-resistant coating layer to be formedon the portion of the internal surfaces of the pores. Hereinafter, amethod of forming the heat-resistant coating layer using the ALD processwill be described in more detail.

The method, according to an embodiment, may improve heat resistance andshutdown properties by forming an inorganic film on the portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores included in the porous polymer substrate.A separator having the inorganic film formed on the portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores may have a lower thermal stability thanthat of an inorganic deposition separator having a metal compound coatedthereon, but the inorganic deposition separator may have low shutdownproperties, and thus safety of the inorganic deposition separator maydecrease.

However, the separator, according to an embodiment, may have theinorganic film formed on the portion of the internal surfaces of thepores included in the porous polymer substrate, and the inorganic filmmay form the network structure. Accordingly, the inorganic film and thenetwork structure may maintain an overall structure of the separatoreven when thermal energy is injected thereinto, thereby avoiding thermalcontraction and improving heat resistance properties while preventingshutdown properties from being decreased. As a result, a separatorhaving excellent heat resistance and shutdown properties may be formed.

A general ALD process is widely known as a process of applying aspecific material to an internal surface of a substrate having a highaspect ratio. Because the general ALD process may allow the specificmaterial to react with a surface of a structure having pores of amicroscale or nanoscale size, the general ALD process has been appliedto a micorchannel plate, nanoparticles, nanopores, aerogel, a nanotubemembrane, or a microlattice.

In general, the ALD process may have process conditions designed tostimulate a self-limiting reaction. An ideal ALD process may beperformed by saturating amounts of a precursor and a reactant in eachinjection operation and completely purging the precursor and thereactant in a purge operation; thus, the surface and the internalsurface of the substrate may have the same thickness as theheat-resistant coating layer. By using such characteristics of the ALDprocess, unlike a chemical or thermal deposition process, the inorganicfilm may be formed on the internal surfaces of the pores.

A method, according to an embodiment, may provide a shutdown function,using a region of the pores, in which the inorganic film is not formed,while maintaining the characteristics of the ALD process. The inorganicfilm may be formed on the portion of the internal surfaces of the poresby modifying the formation of a functional group on the substrate. Theinorganic film may be coated using two methods. First, the amount of thefunctional group applied to the substrate before the coating of theinorganic film may be adjusted, so that the inorganic film may not beformed on the portion of the internal surfaces of the pores. In order toadjust the application of a reactable functional group to the surface ofthe substrate and the internal surfaces of the pores, a preprocessingprocess and the strength of the substrate may be controlled.

Examples of the preprocessing process may include a plasma treatmentallowing the surface of the porous polymer substrate to be treated withplasma, including a gas such as oxygen, water, or nitrogen; a surfacetreatment allowing the surface of the porous polymer substrate to betreated with an organic compound monomer made into plasma, a coronadischarge treatment, an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation treatment; or anozone treatment performed on the surface of the porous polymer substratebefore forming an ALD layer. These treatments may be further beneficialin increasing adhesion of the ALD layer on the surface of the porouspolymer substrate, and in particular, may allow the functional group tobe increased in density, thereby forming a metal compound layer having ahigh density and excellent morphology. In an embodiment, depending onprocessing strength and a processing time, an amount of the functionalgroup may be adjusted.

Further, in the case where the metal compound is applied to the porouspolymer substrate using the ALD process, when a metal precursor isstacked on the porous polymer substrate, an aspect of formation of theinorganic film may vary, depending on an amount of the metal precursorsupplied to a reaction area and an amount of the reactable functionalgroup formed on the surface of the porous polymer substrate.

According to an embodiment, with respect to the porous polymer substratehaving the first surface, the second surface opposing the first surface,and the pores connecting the first surface to the second surface, afunctional group such as a hydroxy group may be formed on the first andsecond surfaces and on the internal surfaces of the pores.

Examples of the reactant used in an embodiment may be at least one ofwater, oxygen, ozone, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, NO₂, N₂O, NH₃, N₂,N₂H₄, C₂H₄, HCOOH, CH₃COOH, H₂S, (C₂H₅)₂S₂, N₂O plasma, hydrogen plasma,oxygen plasma, CO₂ plasma, and NH₃ plasma, but are not limited thereto.

In an embodiment, a plasma treatment allowing the surface of the porouspolymer substrate to be treated with plasma including a gas such asoxygen, water, or nitrogen, a surface treatment allowing the surface ofthe porous polymer substrate to be treated with an organic compoundmonomer made into plasma, a corona discharge treatment, an UVirradiation treatment, or an ozone treatment, may be performed on thesurface of the porous polymer substrate before forming an ALD layer.These treatments may be further help with the adhesion of the ALD layeron the surface of the porous polymer substrate, and in particular, mayallow the amount of the functional group, formed on the surface of theporous polymer substrate, to be adjusted, thereby forming a metalcompound layer having excellent morphology.

In an embodiment, the amount of the functional group formed on thesurface of the substrate may be adjusted to control the distribution ofthe functional group, and thus an aspect of formation of theheat-resistant coating layer may vary. The amount of the functionalgroup may be adjusted by controlling the above-mentioned processingstrength and processing time.

For example, when a plasma treatment is performed, an amount of aheat-resistant coating layer formed on a substrate may be adjusted bychanging plasma conditions, and in an embodiment, the substrate may betreated as follows.

The substrate may be plasma treated by injecting a gas with a power of0.01 kW to 5.0 kW, at a rate of 1 m/min to 60 m/min, at an N₂ flow rateof 400 slm, and at a CDA flow rate of 0.4 slm, using in-line AP plasma.

In general, a gas or compound used for a polymer film may includenitrogen (N), argon (Ar), oxygen (O₂), helium (He), nitrous acid, watervapor, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), or ammonia (NH₃). Dependingon the power and the rate, a degree of hydrophilization of the substratemay be adjusted. That is, a change in a hydrophilic functional groupaccording to the plasma treatment may allow surface tension of thesubstrate to vary. For example, when a polyethylene (PE) substrate for aseparator having a surface tension of 41 dyne is subjected to an APplasma treatment at a power of 1.44 kW at a rate of 5 m/min, a degree ofhydrophilization of the PE substrate may rise to 47 dyne, and when thePE substrate is subjected to an AP plasma treatment at a power of 1.68kW at a rate of 3 m/min, a degree of hydrophilization of the PEsubstrate may rise to 48 dyne. In addition, a surface treatment method,such as a corona treatment or an ozone treatment, may allow the surfaceof the PE substrate to be reformed.

The porous polymer substrate having the functional group applied theretomay be positioned on a reactive chamber, and the metal precursorincluding a metal may be applied to the respective surfaces of theporous polymer substrate under a vacuum atmosphere, so that the metalprecursor may contact the respective surfaces.

The heat-resistant coating layer may include a molecule including anatom of at least one of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, silicon, titanium,vanadium, zinc, tantalum, hafnium, and zirconium, and an atom of atleast one of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen, and more preferably,at least one of an aluminum oxide, a silicon oxide, a titanium oxide,and a zinc oxide.

Examples of the metal precursor used in an embodiment may include atleast one of AlCl₃, tri-methyl-aluminum (TMA), Al(CH₃)₂Cl, Al(C₂H₅)₃,Al(OC₂H₅)₃, Al(N(C₂H₅)₂)₃, Al(N(CH₃)₂)₃, SiClC₄, SiCl₂H₂, Si₂Cl₆,Si(C₂H₅)H₂, Si₂H₆, TiF₄, TiCl₄, TiI₄, Ti(OCH₃)₄, Ti(OC₂H₅)₄,Ti(N(CH₃)₂)₄, Ti(N(C₂H₅)₂)₄, Ti(N(CH₃)(C₂H₅))₄, VOCl₃, Zn, ZnCl₂,Zn(CH₃)₂, Zn(C₂H₅)₂, ZnI₂, ZrCl₄, ZrI₄, Zr(N(CH₃)₂)₄, Zr(N(C₂H₅)₂)₄,Zr(N(CH₃)(C₂H₅))₄, HfCl₄, HfI₄, Hf(NO₃)₄, Hf(N(CH₃)(C₂H₅))₄,Hf(N(CH₃)₂)₄, Hf(N(C₂H₅)₂)₄, TaCl₅, TaF₅, TaI₅, Ta(O(C₂H₅))₅,Ta(N(CH₃)₂)₅, Ta(N(C₂H₅)₂)₅, and TaBr₅.

After the metal precursor reacts with the surface of the porous polymersubstrate, the surface of the porous polymer substrate may be purgedwith a non-reactive gas such as argon (Ar), and the reactant, includingat least one of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen, may be applied tothe surface of the porous polymer substrate so as to contact the reactedmetal precursor.

Subsequently, the surface of the porous polymer substrate may be purgedwith a non-reactive gas to form the heat-resistant coating layer. In theforming of the heat-resistant coating layer formed of a solid ceramiclayer including a nonmetal and a metal, the heat-resistant coating layermay be formed to have a certain thickness by repeating the applicationof the metal precursor to the solid ceramic layer, the purging of thesurface of the porous polymer substrate, the applying of the reactant,and the purging of the surface of the porous polymer substrate. In thecase where the metal compound is applied to the porous polymer substrateusing the ALD process, when the metal precursor is stacked on the porouspolymer substrate, the formation of the inorganic film may vary,depending on an amount of the metal precursor supplied to the reactionarea.

In an embodiment, control of the preprocessing may allow theheat-resistant coating layer to be formed on the portion of the internalsurfaces of the pores, and control of a degree of the self-limitingreaction through control of the processing time and the processingconditions of a cycle of the ALD process may also allow theheat-resistant coating layer to be formed on the portion of the internalsurfaces of the pores. Second, the inorganic film may be coated byadjusting the process conditions until the reactant reaches a saturatedstate for the self-limiting reaction.

In the ALD process, first, a deposition process may be required toinclude a series of separate processes. In the case where two reactionsare not separated from each other but are mixed with each other, agas-phase reaction may occur. Second, a reaction between the reactantand the surface may be required to be performed by a self-limitingreaction. Third, the self-limiting reaction or chemical adsorption maybe required to be a primary reaction.

The concept of the process of forming the heat-resistant coating layerusing the ALD process, according to an embodiment, will be illustratedin FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, when a reaction A is supplied tothe substrate, the reaction A may react with the surface of thesubstrate to be chemically adsorbed thereonto. When the reaction A isdeposited on the surface of the substrate as an atomic layer, even in acase in which a gas formed of an excessive amount of the reaction A issupplied to the surface of the substrate, the gas may no longer reactwith the surface of the substrate (a self-limiting reaction) (Process1).

Next, when the reaction A no longer reacts with the surface of thesubstrate, the surface of the substrate may be purged with an inert gassuch as argon (Ar), and thus the excessive amount of the reaction A maybe removed externally from the functional group (Process 2).

Subsequently, when the reaction A is completely removed from thefunctional group, a reactant B may be supplied to the surface of thesubstrate, and may then react with the reaction A adsorbed onto thesurface of the substrate, to be chemically adsorbed thereonto. When thereaction B is saturated on the surface of the substrate, the reaction Bmay no longer react with the surface of the substrate (a self-limitingreaction) (Process 3).

Further, when the reaction B no longer reacts with the surface of thesubstrate, the surface of the substrate may be purged with an inert gas,and thus an excessive amount of the reaction B maybe removed externallyfrom the functional group (Process 4).

Processes 1 to 4 may form a single cycle, and such a single cycle mayberepeated to grow a thin atomic layer having a desired thickness. As amethod of depositing the thin atomic layer using the adsorption betweenthe precursor and the reactant and the surface reaction between theiradsorbed molecules, an example of using a precursor such as Al(CH₃)₃ andH₂O, having a half-reaction below, is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a precursor such as Al(CH₃)₃ may besupplied in vapor phase to the surface of the substrate having thehydroxy group as a functional group, so that aluminum (Al) may beadsorbed onto the surface of the substrate, as represented by thefollowing Reaction Formula (A) below. The inert gas maybe supplied to areaction gas to purge the surface of the substrate, thereby separatingtwo half-reactions. In an embodiment, except for chemically adsorbedmolecules, physically adsorbed molecules may be removed, a reactant maybe injected, and thus a half-reaction, represented by the followingReaction Formula (B, may be performed. A reaction gas may be supplied tothe surface of the substrate so as to be adsorbed onto or bonded to themolecules adsorbed in Reaction (A), thereby forming the thin atomiclayer.

-   (A) Al—OH*+Al(CH₃)₃→Al—O—Al (CH₃)₂*+CH₄↑-   (B) Al—CH₃*+H₂O→Al—OH*+CH₄↑-   **(A): OH terminated, (B): CH₃ terminated surface

In this manner, the heat-resistant coating layer may be formed byrepeating the adsorption reaction of the reaction A as an OH terminatedchemical species and the adsorption and bonding reactions of thereaction B as a CH₃ terminated chemical species as a single cycle ofreaction.

General factors influencing the ALD process are as follows.

A flow direction of the reactant relates to equipment used in the ALDprocess, and a reactor used as a type of ALD equipment may be a showerhead type or a laminar flow type. The shower head type may haveexcellent uniformity of the flow direction of the reactant due to a widereaction area, but may require a long purge time. The laminar flow typemay minimize reaction volume, may increase use efficiency of a precursorand a functional group, thereby enabling an effective reaction, but maydecrease uniformity of the flow direction of the reactant due toreduction in use efficiency of the precursor and the functional groupwhen the reactant flows from an inlet to an outlet of the reactor. Morespecifically, when the flow direction of the reactant is the same asflow directions of the pores, it may be effective in the reaction. Thus,it may be preferable to use a shower head type of reactor, in which theoverall flow direction of the reactant is the same as the direction ofthe pores. In particular, use of a substrate having a pore structurewith a high aspect ratio may allow a mean free path to be improved whenthe shower head type of reactor is used, as the overall flow directionof the reactant is the same as the flow directions of the pores, whichmay be further beneficial in forming the inorganic film and in coatingthe portion of the internal surfaces of the pores therewith.

A flux of the reactant may be adjusted according to a flow type of thereactant, and supplying a larger amount of a carrier gas for injectingthe precursor and the reactant may be effective in the reaction.However, it may be preferable that an amount of the carrier gas beadjusted according to an aspect ratio of the substrate. Further, itmaybe required that supply of a certain amount or more of the carriergas be adjusted according to the volume of a chamber. A commonly usedcarrier gas may include an inert gas, but is not limited thereto, andmay also include argon (Ar) or nitrogen (N).

In the ALD reaction, a process temperature may be dependent, mostimportantly, on a reaction temperature of the precursor. The processtemperature may be determined to be within a window of the precursor,and may also be determined according to a temperature rise range of thesubstrate. That is, it may be preferable that the ALD reaction beperformed at the highest temperature possible, considering a temperaturerange in which damage to the substrate may be avoided and a reactiontemperature range of the precursor. For example, in the ALD reaction,the process temperature may be properly selected within a range from 25°C. to 400° C., in which range the process temperature may not influencethe substrate.

A degree of a vacuum within the chamber may be generally within a rangefrom a torr of 7.6×10⁻¹¹ of an ultra high vacuum level to several torr,which can be provided by a first pump, for example, a rough pump, andmay be determined to be within a vacuum condition of several torr orhigher. Injection pressure of the precursor and the reactant may beincreased as the degree of the vacuum becomes higher, and it may bepreferable that the precursor and the reactant are injected at a higherdegree of the vacuum. In particular, in the case of a porous substrate,the degree of a vacuum thereof may have an influence on the mean freepath.

Injection and purge times of the precursor and the reactant may befactors that can adjust the thickness of the thin atomic layer moredirectly. It may be required to supply a material for a sufficientlylong period of time, and when the purge time is insufficient, a chemicalvapor deposition (CVD) effect may cause uniformity of the thickness ofthe thin atomic layer to decrease. Thus, the injection time may rangefrom 0.1 second to 10 seconds, and the purge time may increase inproportion to the injection time, and may range from 1 second to 30seconds.

A degree of the self-limiting reaction in Processes 1 and 3 may becontrolled, and the supply and retention of the precursor and thereactant for the control of the self-limiting reaction may becontrolled, depending on the flow of flux, the purge direction, theinjection pressure of the precursor and the reactant, the concentrationsand injection amounts of the precursor and the reactant, the retentiontimes of the precursor and the reactant on the substrate, the aspectratio of the substrate, and the process temperature, thereby obtaining amembrane portion and a non-membrane portion. Accordingly, a separatorfor a secondary cell may be manufactured by adjusting the shape of themembrane portion of the inorganic film, while applying the ability tocover a high aspect ratio of the substrate that characterizes the ALDprocess.

The separator, manufactured according to an embodiment, may have theheat-resistant coating layer formed on the portion of the internalsurfaces of the pores included in the porous polymer substrate, may havea lower thermal stability than that of the inorganic depositionseparator having the metal compound coated on the entirety of the pores,but the inorganic deposition separator may have low shutdown properties,thereby reducing safety. Because the separator, having the networkstructure formed of the inorganic film formed on the portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores, may maintain the overall structure ofthe separator even when thermal energy is injected thereinto, therebyavoiding thermal contraction, while preventing shutdown properties fromdecreasing. As a result, the separator having excellent heat resistanceand shutdown properties may be formed.

With respect to the separator having the heat-resistant coating layerformed on the portion of the internal surfaces of the pores, an averagethickness t of the inorganic film formed on the surface of the porouspolymer substrate may be measured using an SEM, and the weight of theinorganic film may be measured before and after the ALD process, therebyobtaining the deposition weight of the inorganic film. Accordingly, itcan be seen that the heat-resistant coating layer is formed on theportion of the internal surfaces of the pores.

The average pore diameter R and thickness of the substrate may bemeasured, and the porosity P thereof may be calculated, by the followingFormula 1.Porosity={(A×B×T)−(M÷ρ _(p))±(A×B×T)}×100  [Formula 1]

In Formula 1, T is the thickness of the separator, M is the weight ofthe substrate, and ρ_(p) is the density of the resin material.Theoretical deposition weight={P×ρ _(i) ×T×t×(2R−t)}/(100×R ²)  [Formula2]

In Formula 2, T is the deposition thickness and ρ_(p) is the density ofthe resin material.

When the heat-resistant coating layer is formed using the ALD process,the heat-resistant coating layer may be formed on the entirety of thesurface of the substrate and of the internal surfaces of the pores.According to an embodiment, the heat-resistant coating layer may beformed on the portion of the internal surfaces of the pores. Thus, theweight of the heat-resistant coating layer formed on the portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores may be less than the weight of theheat-resistant coating layer formed on the entirety of the surface ofthe substrate and of the internal surfaces of the pores. Morespecifically, the total weight of the heat-resistant coating layer maybe within a range from 10% to 50% based on the total weight of theheat-resistant coating layer coated on the first and second surfaces ofthe porous polymer substrate and onto the internal surfaces of the poresat the same thickness as the average thickness (d) of the heat-resistantcoating layers formed on the first and second surfaces of the porouspolymer substrate.

In an embodiment, the heat-resistant coating layer formed on theinternal surfaces of the pores may have the same thickness as that ofthe heat-resistant coating layer formed on the surface of the substrate,and may also have a thickness less than that of the heat-resistantcoating layer formed on the surface of the substrate. For example, thethickness of the heat-resistant coating layer, formed on the internalsurfaces of the pores, may be 70% or less of the thickness of theheat-resistant coating layer formed on the surface of the substrate.

The separator, according to an embodiment as described above, maypreferably have a rate of change in a Gurley value equal to 200% orgreater than that of the separator before and after high heat resistanceproperties of the separator are evaluated. More specifically, when aGurley value of the separator obtained in an embodiment is compared witha Gurley value thereof measured after the separator remains at 150° C.for 1 hour, the Gurley value thereof after the evaluation of the highheat resistance properties may be equal to 200% or greater than theGurley value of the separator obtained in an embodiment. This mayindicate that the shutdown function of occluding the pores by thethermally molten resin material of the separator, when the secondarycell generates an abnormal amount of heat, may be smoothly performed.

The shrinkage of the separator before and after the evaluation of thehigh heat resistance properties may preferably be a value of 5% or less.That is, even when the resin material is thermally molten in thenon-coated region of the pores at a temperature at which the shutdownfunction is performed to occlude the pores, the membrane portion of theseparator may be prevented from shrinking. As a result, internal shortcircuits due to the contact between the anode and the cathode may beavoided.

Further, the separator may preferably have a melt fracture temperatureof 160° C. or higher, measured by thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA).

EXAMPLES

Hereinafter, Examples 1 to 3 of the present disclosure will be describedin more detail. However, Examples 1 to 3 are for illustrative purposesonly, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

Preparation Example-Manufacturing of Porous Polymer Substrate

In order to manufacture a polyolefin-based microporous layer,high-density polyethylene having an average molecular weight of 3.8×10⁵was used, a 1:2 mixture of dibutylphthalate and paraffin oil having akinematic viscosity of 160 cSt at 40° C. was used as a diluent, and thecontents of the high-density polyethylene and the diluent were 30 wt %and 70 wt %, respectively.

The resulting composition was extruded at 240° C., using a twin-shaftcompounder having a T-die, passed through a section set to 180° C. tocause phase separation, and was manufactured to form a sheet, using acasting roll. The sheet was manufactured by sequential biaxialstretching at a stretching ratio (7.5 times in a machine direction (MD)and a transverse direction (TD), respectively) at a stretchingtemperature of 131° C. Here, a heat setting temperature was 130° C., anda heat setting width was 1.1−1.3−1.1.

An image of a surface of a manufactured porous polymer substrate wascaptured using an SEM, and the resulting image is illustrated in FIG. 5.

Further, the following physical properties of the porous polymersubstrate were measured, and the measured thickness, gas permeability(Gurley value), porosity, and pore size of the porous polymer substratewere 25 μm, 100 seconds, 60%, and 22 nm, respectively. Also, theshrinkage of the porous polymer substrate at 130° C. was 25% and 28% inthe MD and the TD, respectively.

Example 1

The porous polymer substrate, manufactured as the Preparation Example,was treated under conditions of a power of 1.9 kW, a slit distancebetween the porous polymer substrate and plasma of 3 mm, a plasma slitgap of 2 mm, and a line speed of 10 m/min, using in-line oxygen plasmaequipment.

The plasma-treated porous polymer substrate was mounted within a chamberset to 100° C. Trimethylaluminum (Al(CH₃)₃), argon (Ar), water (H₂O),and argon (Ar) were sequentially applied to the surface of the porouspolymer substrate at exposure times of 1, 5, 3, and 15 seconds, and thiscycle of processes was repeated 92 times to form a metal compound layer,for example, an aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer having a density of 2.6g/cm³. Detailed process conditions are illustrated in Table 1.

An image of the surface of the separator having the aluminum oxide layerformed thereon was captured using the SEM, and the captured image isillustrated in FIG. 6.

Further, the characteristics of the separator having the aluminum oxidelayer formed thereon were evaluated, as illustrated in Table 2 below.

Example 2

An aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer was formed on a porous polymer substrateby performing an ALD process 60 times, using the same method illustratedin Example 1, except that an application time of trimethylaluminum(Al(CH₃)₃) was changed to 3 seconds, and a purge time thereof waschanged to 10 seconds, without using a plasma treatment. Detailedprocess conditions are illustrated in Table 1.

Further, the characteristics of the separator having the aluminum oxidelayer formed thereon were evaluated, as illustrated in Table 2 below.

Example 3

The porous polymer substrate, manufactured as the Preparation Example,was treated under conditions of a power of 2.28 kW, a slit distancebetween the porous polymer substrate and plasma of 3 mm, a plasma slitgap of 2 mm, and a line speed of 3 m/min, using in-line oxygen plasmaequipment.

An aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer was formed on the plasma-treated porouspolymer substrate by performing an ALD process by the same methodillustrated in Example 1, except that an application time oftrimethylaluminum (Al (CH₃)₃) was changed to 5 seconds, a purge timethereof was changed to 10 seconds, and the ALD process was performed 45times. Detailed process conditions are illustrated in Table 1.

Further, the characteristics of the separator having the aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) layer formed thereon were evaluated, as illustrated in Table 2below.

Comparative Example 1

The aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer was formed on the porous polymersubstrate manufactured as the Preparation

Example by performing an ALD process by the same method illustrated inExample 1, except that an application time of trimethylaluminum(Al(CH₃)₃) was changed to 0.1 second, and the ALD process was performed150 times. Detailed process conditions are illustrated in Table 1.

Further, the characteristics of the separator having the aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) layer formed thereon were evaluated, as illustrated in Table 2below.

Comparative Example 2

The porous polymer substrate manufactured as the Preparation Example wastreated under conditions of a power of 2.28 kW, a slit distance betweenthe porous polymer substrate and plasma of 3 mm, a plasma slit gap of 2mm, and a line speed of 3 m/min, using in-line oxygen plasma equipment.

An aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer was formed on the plasma-treated porouspolymer substrate by performing an ALD process by the same methodillustrated in Example 1, except that an application time oftrimethylaluminum (Al(CH₃)₃) was changed to 5 seconds, and the ALDprocess was performed 50 times. Detailed process conditions areillustrated in Table 1.

Further, the characteristics of the separator having the aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) layer formed thereon were evaluated, as illustrated in Table 2below.

Comparative Example 3

The porous polymer substrate manufactured as the Preparation Example wastreated under conditions of a power of 2.28 kW, a slit distance betweenthe porous polymer substrate and plasma of 3 mm, a plasma slit gap of 2mm, and a line speed of 3 m/min, using in-line oxygen plasma equipment.

Trimethylaluminum (Al(CH₃)₃), argon (Ar), water (H₂O ), and argon (Ar)were sequentially applied to the surface of the plasma-treated porouspolymer sheet at exposure times of 20, 20, 5, and 30 seconds, and thisprocess was repeated 45 times, to form an aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layeron the plasma-treated porous polymer sheet. Detailed process conditionsare illustrated in Table 1.

Further, the characteristics of the separator having the aluminum oxide(Al₂O₃) layer formed thereon were evaluated, as illustrated in Table 2below.

TABLE 1 Examples Comparative Examples 1 2 3 1 2 3 Gas 1026 846 538 302630 658 permeability after evaluation of shutdown function (sec/100 cc)Plasma power 1.9 kw x 2.28 kw x 2.28 kw 2.28 kw 10 m/min 3 m/min 3 m/min3 m/min Precursor 1 3 5 0.1 5 20 retention time (sec) Precursor purge 510 10 5 10 20 time (sec) Reactant 3 3 3 3 3 5 retention time (sec)Reactant 15 15 15 15 15 30 retention time (sec) Number of cycles 92 6045 150 50 58 of ALD GR(growth rate 0.15 0.15 0.10 0.14 0.10 0.15Å/cycle) Flow direction Cross Cross Cross Cross Cross Shower (type) headBasic pressure 0.1 0.006 0.003 1 0.003 0.4 (torr) Process 1 1 1 1 1 0.65pressure (torr) Temperature 25 90 50 50 50 90 (° C.) Carrier gas 15002000 2000 1000 2000 100 (sccm)

TABLE 2 Examples Comparative Examples 1 2 3 1 2 3 Gas 236 244.8 237.3231.1 525.4 629.4 Permeability (sec/100 cc) Deposition 14.02 9.24 4.5920.94 4.76 8.83 thickness (t, nm) Contraction 1.0/5.0 0.7/4.3 1.5/4.335.3/38.5 0.2/2.0 0.1/1.0 (%, MD/TD) TMA 1.55 2.09 3.79 34 0.36 0.32maximum shrinkage (%) TMA melt 188.67 201.33 222 192.58 219.58 221.52fracture temperature (° C.) Gas 1026 846 538 302 630 658 permeability(sec/100 cc) after evaluation of shutdown function Weight of 3.40 5.006.63 1.04 8.93 23.85 inorganic film (g/m²) Theoretical 33.87 25.88 14.5838.91 15.05 25.02 weight Actual 10.04 19.32 45.51 2.68 59.33 95.31weight/ Theoretical weight × 100 (%)

As illustrated in Table 2, it can be seen that only a portion of theinternal surfaces of the pores, and not the entirety of the internalsurfaces thereof, is coated, from the ratios of the actual depositionweights to the theoretical weights and the deposition thicknesses thatare shown. Comparative Example 1 indicates that since the depositionamount was not sufficient, the shrinkage was high, and ComparativeExample 2 indicates that since the deposition amount was great, theshrinkage was low, but an increase in the gas permeability measuredafter the separator remained at 200° C. for one hour was low.Comparative Example 3 indicates that since the aluminum oxide layer wasdeposited on the entirety of the internal surfaces of the pores, theshrinkage was low, but the increase in the gas permeability measuredafter the separator remained at 200° C. for one hour was significantlylow.

Examples 1 to 3 exhibit excellent shrinkage properties, as compared withComparative Example 1, and exhibit excellent shutdown properties, ascompared with Comparative Examples 2 and 3.

Thus, it can be seen that the separator having an actual weight totheoretical weight ratio of 10% to 50%, indicating a deposition rate,may ensure excellent shrinkage properties and shutdown properties.

The physical properties of the porous polymer substrate, illustrated inFIG. 1, and the separators obtained in Examples 1 to 3 and ComparativeExamples 1 to 3, were measured by the following methods.

Thickness of film: A contact-type thickness measuring instrument havinga thickness accuracy of 0.1 μm was used.

Mean pore diameter: The mean pore diameter was measured by a half-drymethod, using a porometer (PMI Co.), based on ASTM F316-03.

Porosity: A rectangular sample having a dimension of A cm×B cm was cutfrom the porous polymer substrate and the separators, and the porosityof the cut rectangular sample was calculated by the following Formula 1.A and B may range from 5 cm to 20 cm, respectively.Space rate={(A×B×T)−(M±ρ)±(A×B×T)}×100  [Formula 1]

In Formula 1, T is the thickness (cm) of the separators, M is the weight(g) of the rectangular sample, and ρ is the density (g/cm³) of the resinmaterial.

Gas permeability (Gurley densometer): The gas permeability indicates atime (second) at which a gas having a volume of 100 mL passes through anarea of 1 inch² at about a pressure of 1 psig to 2 psig, and wasmeasured using a Gurley densometer (Toyo Seiki Seisku-Sho, Ltd.).

Deposition thickness: The deposition thickness of the inorganic metalcompound formed on the composite microporous layer, using the ALDprocess, was replaced with a thickness measured using a reflectometer,after the inorganic metal compound was deposited on a silicon (Si) waferunder the same deposition conditions.

Shrinkage: When a Teflon sheet was interposed between glass plates and aforce of 7.5 mg/mm² was applied to the composite microporous layer to bemeasured, the Teflon sheet, the glass plates, and the compositemicroporous layer remained in an oven set to 200° C. for one hour, andthe shrinkages thereof were measured in the MD and the TD thereof tocalculate the final area shrinkages (%) thereof.

TMA maximum shrinkage and melt fracture temperature: Using a TMA device(Mettler-Toledo International Inc.), a sample having a dimension of 6mm×10 mm and having a weight of 0.015 N was heated at a rate of 5°C./min.

A sample, manufactured via a stretching process, may shrink at atemperature, and when the temperature of the sample exceeds a glasstransition temperature (Tg) and a melting temperature (Tm), the samplemay be elongated due to the weight of the weight.

The TMA maximum shrinkage may be defined as a value in which a rate of ashrunken length to an initially measured length (zero point) of thesample is represented by a percentage (%) at a maximum shrinkage pointthereof, generated at a temperature, and may start to elongate due tothe weight of the weight. In an embodiment, a temperature at which thelength of the sample starts to exceed the initially measured length, maybe defined as the melt fracture temperature.

Further, in the case of a sample which has not shrunk, an x-axistemperature gradient of the sample may be defined as a melt fracturetemperature when the sample is maximally elongated, according to thetemperature rise thereof.

As set forth above, according to an embodiment, a heat-resistant coatinglayer may be formed on a portion of internal surfaces of pores to form anetwork structure, so as to maintain an overall structure of a separatoreven when thermal energy is injected thereinto, thereby avoiding thermalcontraction thereof, while preventing shutdown properties thereof fromdecreasing. As a result, a separator having excellent heat resistanceand shutdown properties may be implemented.

According to an embodiment, the heat-resistant coating layer may beformed on an entirety of a surface of a porous polymer substrate, usingan atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, thereby ensuring heatresistance properties. Accordingly, the separator may be prevented fromshrinking, and thus internal short circuits of a secondary cell due to acontact between an anode and a cathode thereof may be avoided.

Since internal surfaces of pores included in the porous polymersubstrate have a region having a heat-resistant coating layer formedthereon, and a region having a non-heat-resistant coating layer formedthereon, when the secondary cell generates an abnormal amount of heat, athermally molten resin may induce the pores to be occluded in the regionhaving a non-heat-resistant coating layer formed thereon, therebyimproving shutdown properties of the separator.

As a result, according to an embodiment, the separator may increase heatresistance properties thereof and shutdown properties thereof, therebyimproving safety of the secondary cell.

While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andvariations could be made without departing from the scope of the presentinvention, as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A separator for a secondary cell comprising: aporous polymer substrate having a first surface, a second surfaceopposing the first surface, and a plurality of pores connecting thefirst surface to the second surface; and heat-resistant coating layersformed on at least one of the first surface and the second surface ofthe porous polymer substrate and on internal surfaces of the pores usingan atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, wherein pores having anon-coated region are present in the internal surfaces of the pores,wherein a weight of the heat-resistant coating layers is 3.40 to 6.63g/m², wherein the heat-resistant coating layers formed on the internalsurfaces of the pores have a thickness of 70% or lower based on athickness of the heat-resistant coating layers formed on the firstsurface and the second surface of the porous polymer substrate, andwherein the separator has a shrinkage of 5% or lower before and afterremaining at 150° C. for one hour.
 2. The separator of claim 1, whereina weight percentage of the heat-resistant coating layers is within arange from 10% to 50% based on a total weight percentage ofheat-resistant coating layers coated on the first surface and the secondsurface of the porous polymer substrate and onto the internal surfacesof the pores at the same thickness as an average thickness (d) of theheat-resistant coating layers formed on the first surface and the secondsurface of the porous polymer substrate.
 3. The separator of claim 1,wherein, with respect to a Gurley value of the separator, an increase ina Gurley value of a separator after the separator remains at 150° C. forone hour is 200% or greater.
 4. The separator of claim 1, wherein theseparator has a melt fracture temperature of 160° C. or higher, measuredby thermo-mechanical analysis (TMA).
 5. The separator of claim 1,wherein the porous polymer substrate is formed of a polyolefin-basedresin.
 6. The separator of claim 1, wherein the heat-resistant coatinglayers comprise a molecule including an atom of at least one ofaluminum, calcium, magnesium, silicon, titanium, and zirconium, and anatom of at least one of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen.
 7. Theseparator of claim 1, wherein the heat-resistant coating layers areformed of at least one of aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, titanium oxide,and zinc oxide.